This is another clearinghouse diary for discussion and commentary about the ongoing nuclear disaster(s) in Japan. For updated information on news and a timeline of the events following the March 11 Japanese Earthquake, visit the Mothership. The Mothership is updated regularly and also provides a more extensive list of news and data sources, social media, crisis mapping and other relevant information.
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STATUS UPDATES:
April 11 AM JST from Kyodo newsfeed
Japan set to extend nuclear evacuation zone h/t siri
The Japanese government is considering extending the evacuation zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant because of high radiation levels.
A 20-kilometre exclusion zone has been in place around the plant since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit Japan one month ago today.
But Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano, says changes are being considered.
"From the perspective of cumulative radiation, we need to take measures to secure people's safety," he said.
No decision has been announced, but local media reports say the zone could be extended to 30km and authorities will stop anyone trying to return to their homes.
April 10 JST (Combined Sources)
Radioactive water disposal delayed: Work to dispose of highly radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is not proceeding smoothly as more time is needed for preparations.
More than 27,000 people are dead or missing in the March 11th disaster and its aftershock that hit northeastern Japan.
Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the US military are conducting massive search operations today. More than 14,000 people remain unaccounted for.
NHK World - Radioactive water disposal delayed h/t
NHK World report about the delay to pump the water from the trenches and turbine buildings.
Holes have already been bored in the walls of the buildings, but work to install the hoses has yet to begin.
In addition, the waste disposal facility needs to be closely checked before the procedure can begin.
The water in #2 tunnel rose 11 cm.
Highly radioactive water going to #2 condenser h/t peraspera
10 Apr 2011 14:57
Workers at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are expected Sunday to start pumping out highly radioactive water filling an underground trench to a nearby storage place they have secured inside the No. 2 reactor turbine building, the government's nuclear safety agency said.
Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, said that removing the highly contaminated water from the trench must be done ''in haste,'' as the level of the water filling the tunnel-like trench is edging up, apparently because of steps taken to prevent the water from leaking into the Pacific Ocean.
...
The water inside the basement of the No. 2 reactor turbine building and the trench connected to it is highly contaminated because it is believed to be originating from the No. 2 reactor core, where fuel rods have partially melted.
...
The water in the trench is expected to be transferred to a ''condenser'' inside the No. 2 reactor turbine building, where in normal operations steam created from the reactor is converted into water.
The condenser has a capacity to store 3,000 tons of liquid and work to empty the condenser finished Saturday.
17,500 gather for Tokyo rallies against nuclear plants
About 17,500 people gathered Sunday for two rallies held in Tokyo against nuclear power plants amid the prolonged crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station some 220 kilometers to the northeast.
Around the JR Koenji Station in Suginami Ward, some 15,000 people took part in a demonstration march organized by local shop owners and reported online as a call for joining the event had spread on Twitter, organizers said.
(snip)
In Shiba Park in Minato Ward, about 2,500 people gathered for a civic rally to demand that Chubu Electric Power Co. halt operations at its Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, saying the plant located ''right above'' the assumed epicenter of a predicted major quake may cause another nuclear crisis.'
The Ministry of Science and Education gives schoolyard activity radiation standards to Fukushima prefecture (Japanese) h/t procrastinator john
The Ministry of Science and Education has decided it will inform Fukushima prefecture soon about its policy regarding situations where children are active in areas outside of kindergartens and schools such as playgrounds.
A high level of radiation and radioactive substances was detected in some of the schools in the prefecture, and the Ministry concluded that it is necessary to determine a standard soon about physical education and other outdoor activities.
According to the Ministry and other sources, they are considering a policy of calculating the time spent using school yards for general use and setting a permissible standard of the yearly amount of radiation exposure at 20 millisieverts (20,000 microsieverts). With the cooperation of the Nuclear Safety Commission, a radiation standard for the atmosphere will be indicated in the prefecture. They have also proposed that in cases where the standard is exceeded the use of school grounds will be prohibited, and it will be required to teach classes indoors.
TEPCO uses unmanned equipment to remove rubble h/t Just Bob
Tokyo Electric Power Company has bugun using unmanned heavy equipment to remove radioactive rubble at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Hydrogen explosions blew off the ceilings and walls of the Number One and Number Three reactor buildings. The debris is emitting hundreds of millisieverts of radiation per hour in some places, hindering the restoration work. The utility started using remote-controlled power shovels and bulldozers to remove the rubble on Sunday afternoon.
A Sampler of DK JNI Team analyses: MUST READS!
progress towards stability post 3/11 ...
h/t Jeff in nyc, mahakali overdrive etc.
an excerpt from mahakali overdrive:
Well, one thing I can say in good faith
is that I have only seen references to the situation remaining unstable from all sources that I've referenced, although the Japanese Government has said that S. Korea is exaggerating their concerns. Beyond this, I'm reading hundreds of stories per day, from sources that I both ideologically agree AND disagree with (or have no one feeling toward one way or another), mainly scouring for new primary source links. I'm seeing a better understanding of this catastrophe, but no indications from anyone of its increased stability. However, this will vary widely depending on what is meant by stability.
In the case of Fukushima, since the problems at hand that represent instability are ones of increased or erratic pressure and temperature readings, combined with radiation emissions, then the absence of increased or erratic pressure and temperature readings, combined with a maintained control of any further radiation emissions would therefore, at least in my mind, represent "stability." Granted, that's a pretty generous assessment that leaves out any and all radiation which has already been leaked with impact that will not be able to be evaluated, according to Wolfgang Weiss, for some two years at least.
#2 h/t mahakali overdrive, siri, peraspera, middleagedhousewife
Analysis after the NYT article Japan Orders Nuclear Plant Operators to Obtain More Emergency Generators
#3 Analysis of Nuke power plant daily radiation averages between middleagedhousewife, procrastinator john
siri, rja with charts …..
These are taken from the daily seismic damage reports, Fukushima Dai-ichi monitoring data pdfs. Obviously, Fukushima Dai-ichi is elevated, but to a lesser extent, so is Dai-ni, and to an even lesser extent, Onagawa and Tokai Dai-ni.
SPRING ACTIONS FOR A NUCLEAR FREE WORLD
Coverage @ Kos 4/9-4/10
GlowNZ: One Month
Finehelen10: Uranium Conference Adds Discussion of Japan Accident
Radical def:Fukushima: Greenpeace Urges Wider Evacuation Zone
Nathguy: Fukushima: The Failure was Deliberate indifference and the NRC knew and Lied.
Rock Strongo: Heartbreaking Video from Japan Nuclear Evacuation Zone
Please visit ROV 44 for news, discussion and analysis as well as Coverage@Kos from Friday through Sunday.
Regularly Updated Data Sources
@Kos: A database of temperature, pressure, radiation levels, etc readings over time can be found in: The Daiichi Database This is an evolving diary that will be updated regularly.
• Japanese Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF)
• RSOS Emergency & Disaster information Services - Japan
• Daily Telephone Media Briefings from Union of Concerned Scientists
• Energy.gov: The Situation in Japan
• EPA RadNet Map View & EPA's Radiation Air Monitoring
Scribble Live
• Fukushima Data Page: Data for all 3 reactors, as well as a good chunk of data over time: pressure, water flow, core nozzle temp, core bottom temp
• Japan Municipal Water Charts (in Japanese)
Best News Sources
Kyodo Nuclear News Feed
GreenAction Fukushima Update
NHK Japan Live
OilDrum: Fukushima Open Thread - Tue 3/29
Asahi on Facebook
Tepco's webcam
Reuters
Fukushima Wikispaces
Google Earth Engine (download required): Radiation Over Japan. Visit Pachube for mapping.
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